To VoIP or not to VoIP...

[Upchurch]

(yes, I am only capable of coming up with one thread naming scheme.)

So, I've worked it out that I can set up the house with a Skype based system for about $10 less per month than my current land line setup. However, the wife wanted to get rid of caller ID anyway, so it comes out even-ish. (actually, I could keep the caller ID for the $10 less, but since I have to sell it to Mrs. Upchurch, the point is moot.) There would be an additional $70ish one time fee for the box that would let me hook up the regular phones to the VoIP.

Do I push for this or not? The advantage would be pretty much for me alone, since I'm likely the one who would use the added features a Skype phone number would provide. It is not something I need. It is something I would like.

 

[Upchurch]

make that a $30ish one time fee for the box. (thank you, buy.com)

 

[Soapy Sam]

I was first shown VOIP (with video) about three years ago. A friend in London used it to stay in touch with a friend in NY. I was impressed by the idea, bought a camera and mike- then used it precisely once.

That wasn't skype, but another system- can't recall the name- PKLITE? something like that.
At work on the rig , a number of people use it, but I'm unimpressed by the quality of either pictures or sound.
At home, my telephone service is now paid to my ISP. Frankly, the bill is trivial.
Having an occasional video contact is handy "I want you to buy one that looks like THIS", but for that , any webcam and skype will do.

Let's face it, it boils down to your individual pattern of usage. How much will you use it, how badly do you want it, what inconvenience will it cause?
Can't help in your case, I'm afraid. Me? I'm sticking with the way things are until I see a real reason to switch.

 

[slyjoe]

A couple of other things to think about:
- VoIP is a technology that will eventually be in almost everything for voice. For now, it refers to companies like Skype and Vonage.
- 911 and E911 work much differently.
- Availability isn't as good (POTS (plain old telephone service) is extremely available.
- Most NorthAmerican cellular providers won't let you access Skype on a data plan. They want you to use their voice services.
- Some of the VoIP patents are being contested. Vonage just got creamed. That said, this stuff usually works itself out without impacting the consumer.

For the above, I have deferred moving away from POTS.

 

[Starthinker]

I have voip through Mediacom and it's sometimes glitchy, but you get what you pay for. It plays havoc with my answering machine for some reason, but I can get voice mail from them if I so desire. Plus, when the cable and internet go out, I have no way to call them. I do have caller ID included, unlimited to everywhere anytime and all that for one price and over all no real issues, about the same as POTS. Since it's bundled with my cable and internet I'm not even sure what portion if for the phone, I think about $30/month.

 

[Azure]

I have a friend who uses VOIP with Vonage, and 3/4 of the time he has to call me back.

 

[richardm]

We use a CIT200 phone and Skype. It's... okay. We have family in Australia and it's great for that. Call quality is not always stellar though, and even though I have a call plan that gives me free domestic calls at the moment I tend to reach for the ordinary phone first.

 

[D2011]

It is not something I need. It is something I would like

Sounds like you summed it up there well. Our company specialises in medium to large scale network integratio/support & voip is one of the products in our suite, much to my dread.

For home users or highly mobile users (frequent stays at hotels etc) & friends I suggest they just use msn voice, yahoo voice or skype voice & for those mobile users with laptops to use skype out or http://www.voipdiscount.com/en/index.html . After all if you have friends or family in other countries you can rack up a nice bill on a standard POTS line. Plus most hotels provide free internet access, but will smash you with huge fees for an international call. So VOIP is very cost effective there.

If they insist on going the whole hog with a voip service for home, Ive found its only economical if you have cable internet. As you can get rid of your landline where you pay monthly rental on without even making a call. Otherwise keeping a landline & getting voip at home isnt much of a savings I find.

I dont think voip is quite there yet. Faster speeds are needed around the globe & less reliance on copper wire are needed to make packet switching (what voip uses) as reliable compared to Circuit switching (your normal phone). After all the numerous routers in between the 2 users are subject to flooding, bad hardware, brown outs, blackouts, dns issues. You get a blackout & no phones at all.


However, business's are where huge savings are made, but also high volume of angry support calls. We intialy concentrated on the price savings for customers, but failed to highlight to them the potential failures in the system.We had 5 in 10 customers wanting us to pull it out within the first few weeks. Now we tell them up front. If you are prepared to put up with worse than mobile quality at times & the occasional drop out, for massive cuts in your bills, this is for you. Before the bill arrives everyone whinges like hell. Once the first billing cycle arrives & the bosses & accountants see they are spending $100 per month instead of $1000 per month, staff are promptly told to shut up & put up with it. Lol.

D2011